


though we're strangers, take a chance on me

by marvellingyou (tourmalinex)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awkward Flirting, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Flirting, Getting Together, Lifeguard Steve Rogers, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 00:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19262059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tourmalinex/pseuds/marvellingyou
Summary: Kids and teens were running about, splashing around in the shallow parts of the water. Bucky took in a deep breath, savoring the gentle breeze. But as he turned around, taking in the sight of the beach and the boardwalk, a smile caught his eye. Atop the lifeguard chair sat a paragon of masculine beauty. Blonde hair, crisp blue eyes and oh god, the way they crinkled as he smiled. His shoulders were broad, chest chiseled and arms that could either protect or hold Bucky down when—Bucky shook his head. He was being ridiculous, but his heart wouldn’t stop pounding.





	though we're strangers, take a chance on me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello! This is for Marvel Undercover 2019! I hope I did this justice! If you enjoy, please leave a comment/kudos ~
> 
> Prompt 53:  
> Bucky tries to get the attention of the hot blond lifeguard but accidentally falls into the water and needs rescuing for real.

New York summers were always brutal. Humid. Sticky. Gross. One would think they could find solace in air-conditioned subway train cars, which would be true if it weren’t for the hot air blowing in everyone’s faces while you waited for your train. Staying at home with the AC on full blast would be fine, but there’s only so much Netflix and Hulu. The same could be applied to video games. So what would be better than going to the beach?

Well, it wasn’t Bucky’s first, second, or third idea of a good time, but eventually, Clint and Natasha dragged his ass to the beach. There was something about it—the amount of people, the lack of shade, for instance—that seemed… repulsive. When they got off the D train and walked over towards Coney Island, Bucky sulked the whole way through. He pulled out his phone, checking the temperature—a whooping 95 degrees with 60% humidity.

_Someone, please, kill me._

“It’s not _that_ bad,” Natasha said, as if she could read his mind.

Both Bucky and Clint stared back at her, incredulous.

“You’ve got to be shittin’ me,” Clint muttered, adjusting his cap. “You can’t tell me your pale ass isn’t _dying_ right now.”

“And how the hell are you wearing all _black_?” Bucky asked. “Dark fabrics make it worse!”

Natasha shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. There’s a bit of a breeze here. Let’s just find a spot to set up the umbrella.”

Bucky rolled his eyes as Clint squinted, scoping out the beach for the perfect spot—close enough to the water, but with enough sand in-between. Once Bucky planted the umbrella and opened it up, he peeled off his t-shirt. For the most part, people didn’t give him too many stares when it came to his prosthetic. If anything, the sunlight reflecting onto the plates made the arm more noticeable, not that Bucky cared too much. He just wanted to jump into (hopefully) cold water and ignore the heat beating down on him.

“I think I’m just gonna stay here with our stuff,” Natasha said, laying out a towel. She pulled out a bottle of sunscreen. “I need to work on my tan.”

“Okay. I’m gonna head out to the water.” Clint ran off, ecstatic, as he smiled from ear to ear towards the endless blue.

Kids and teens were running about, splashing around in the shallow parts of the water. Bucky took in a deep breath, savoring the gentle breeze. But as he turned around, taking in the sight of the beach and the boardwalk, a smile caught his eye. Atop the lifeguard chair sat a paragon of masculine beauty. Blonde hair, crisp blue eyes and oh god, the way they crinkled as he smiled. His shoulders were broad, chest chiseled and arms that could either protect or hold Bucky down when—

Bucky shook his head. He was being ridiculous, but his heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

That was two days ago.

Since their first outing, Bucky was the one to drag Natasha and Clint to the beach—not that they needed much convincing. Unbeknownst to Bucky, they caught onto Bucky’s infatuation with the lifeguard. It didn’t help that Bucky, for the first two hours, seemed to want the blonde’s attention by walking and swimming in front of him. Watching Bucky’s attempts at flirting provided much entertainment, so they went along for the ride. As Bucky checked his hair for the fifth time, making sure that his bun was in place before making his way over to the lifeguard chair as the shifts changed. The blonde lifeguard hugged the man that was there before him, then climbed up onto the chair.

 _Keep it cool_ , Bucky told himself. _Don’t be too much of a dork._ He inched closer, hoping that his nerves would calm the hell down. Bucky took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

“Not that many people here for a Saturday,” he said. “Y’think everyone’s all beached out?”

Though unsurprising, Bucky was disappointed that the lifeguard didn’t react. He stammered, with a few false starts, trying to find something relevant to talk about that wasn’t the weather.

“You must be a great swimmer to be a lifeguard.” Bucky winced as the words left him. _Yeah, no shit, dumbass._ He cleared his throat, hoping to god that the lifeguard didn’t think of him as pathetic. “I mean, I’m a pretty great swimmer myself. I was the swim captain in high school and I’ve won a few medals myself.”

The lifeguard looked down at him and sighed. Bucky felt his blush spread down to his neck.

“Yeah, look, I gotta pay attention over here. So unless you’re drowning, I’ll be right here with these,” he said, motioning to his binoculars.”

Bucky smiled. _Finally, some kind of reaction._ He rubbed the back of neck. “Swimming isn’t the only thing I’m known for. If I catch you lookin’ at me, I’ll take that as you being interested.” After Bucky flashed the lifeguard a smile and winked, he jogged off back to Natasha and Clint.

“Did you get his number?” Clint asked as he poured out a bucket of wet sand near his kind-of sandcastle.

“Not yet.” But Bucky wasn’t going to lose hope. He _will_ get that hottie’s number by the end of the day.

Natasha lowered her sunglasses. “Do you think you might be trying too hard?”

“Or not hard enough!” Clint exclaimed. “I’m sure Adonis over there will come around.”

Bucky smirked. “I think I’d rather him come—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Natasha threw the bottle of sunblock at him. Bucky put a hand to his chest, in mocking pain, making Natasha smile.

“Just go out there and do your thing,” she said.

* * *

This wasn’t the first time someone approached Steve during one of his shifts. It was bad enough that strangers would stop him on his morning jogs. He took this job seriously—as anyone should—and couldn’t afford any distractions. But there was something different about this interaction. First, the guy didn’t immediately say “hey, handsome,” or something to that effect. If anything, it was almost like a relatively normal conversation, even with the slight bragging.

“Falcon to Steve, Falcon to Steve.”

Steve looked over at his walkie-talkie and brought it to his mouth. “Sam?”

“That’s Falcon to you,” Sam said, laughing. Steve rolled his eyes at the self-given nickname. _Nothing can escape my sight_ , he said. _That’s what makes me perfect for the job._

“Alright, Falcon.” Steve smiled. “What’s up? I thought you were heading home after your shift?”

“Y’know,” Sam drawled out. “Bionic Lover Boy’s been trying to get your attention for the past few days.”

“You saw that?” Steve could hear some echo on Sam’s end. He had to be nearby, but where? He turned towards the boardwalk, scoping out the crowd until he saw Sam waving at him. Then what Sam said dawned to him as he turned back towards the beach. “Wait, what do you mean the past few days?!”

“Let’s just say the cute redhead at your 10 o’clock tipped me off.” God, Steve hated the amusement in Sam’s voice.

“What redhead?”

“Hey!” Sam shouted. “Focus! You’re on watch!”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Then stop talkin’ to me!”

“Fine, fine!” Sam let out a hearty laugh. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Steve set down the walkie-talkie, his attention completely focused on the beach. Aside from “Bionic Lover Boy,” the shift was mostly uneventful. There were a few scares, but nothing more than some teens taking horsing around a little too far. He slumped down in his seat, trying to relax, even if just for a few moments.

But as Steve settled in, he noticed a flickering white flash coming from the water, brighter than the normal shimmering of reflected light. He picked up his set of binoculars, focusing on the water, looking for the source of the glimmer. Although he couldn’t make out much, Steve noticed a hand raised up from the water, flailing about. Without hesitance, Steve blew his whistle and grabbed the rescue board before running across the hot sand. He dove into the water, his hands carving a path ahead towards the person being pushed down by the water. As Steve got closer, he recognized the face of the man drowning.

_Bionic Lover Boy._

“I got you,” Steve half-shouted as he placed the board in front of the brunette. “Grab onto this.”

It took a while for Bionic Lover Boy to settle after holding onto the board, but Steve felt a wave of relief as his breathing evened out. Steve motioned for him to follow, leading them both back to shore.

“T-Thanks,” he said, voice shaking. “I-I didn’t expect my arm to freeze up like that.”

“It’s okay.” Steve kept his voice gentle, understanding what he meant. He looked over at his left arm in shame, in embarrassment. “Make sure to have it checked out, okay?”

The brunette only nodded as they made it to shallow water. He managed to stand up, legs wavering, as he handed back the board to Steve. He kicked up some sand, looking as if he wanted to say something, so Steve waited. After all, the man almost drowned because his prosthetic went haywire. He needed to make sure Lover Boy was okay.

“You looked at me,” he said. “So… are you interested?”

Steve snorted, then quickly elbowed the other man’s side. “I saw someone drowning, so I jumped in, jerk.”

“Oh, so I’m a jerk for nearly dying,” he said, trying to hide his laughter. How could someone’s laugh be so damn sweet? “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Though he didn’t mean to, Steve’s eyes traveled to Lover Boy’s arm. At first, he wasn’t sure how to interpret Steve’s gaze.

“You…” Steve began. “Seriously, have it checked out. We can’t have you drowning all the time.”

“And miss out on you rescuing me?” he asked with a smirk. “Not a chance. But seriously, yeah. This usually doesn’t happen.”

They both shifted from side to side, allowing for some silence to settle between them.

“Uh, so you come here a lot?” Steve asked.

The other man smiled. “So you noticed?”

Steve shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but my friend had to point it out.”

“Damn,” he said, snapping his fingers. “And to think I still had the Barnes Charm.”

_Barnes, huh?_

“I don’t think I introduced myself.” Steve held out his hand. “Steve. Steve Rogers.”

“Bucky. Bucky Barnes.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “The hell kind of name is Bucky?”

“Nickname,” Bucky explained with a sheepish grin. “I’m not too keen on introducing myself as James Buchanan Barnes.”

Steve let out a laugh. “Well, James Buchanan Barnes, it’s nice to officially meet you.” As he started to walk back towards the chair, Bucky reached out for his hand, only to pull back.

“W-Wait.”

“Yeah?” Steve turned back towards him.

“Do you have any plans?” Bucky asked. “After your shift, I mean.”

“Not really. Why?”

“Wanna grab a bite to eat—no pressure! I just… wanna get to know you.”

It wasn’t a bad idea—hell, it was even a good idea. The last few times Steve went on a date, they ended between awkwardly and horribly. He didn’t think of himself as interesting. If anything, Sam teased him about having “old man interests.” But Steve sensed an earnestness from Bucky. He bit his lower lip, then smiled.

“Sure, why not? You’re lucky today’s one of my shorter shifts.” He looked at his (thankfully) waterproof watch. “Meet me in two hours?”

“You got it!” Bucky beamed as he ran back towards his friends.

Even though he couldn’t see Sam, Steve figured that Sam was watching with a grin plastered on his face.

* * *

“Nice work, man!” Clint said, holding up his hand for a high five. “Goin’ out there, pretending to drown.”

“I was actually drowning, but thanks.” Bucky’s hand clapped against Clint’s. “At first, I was gonna pretend that I slipped and needed help, but then my arm acted up.”

Natasha snickered, hiding behind a magazine.

“I guess I gotta pay Stark a visit soon,” Bucky said, sighing.

“So,” Clint began. “How’d it go with Blondie McHottie over there?”

Bucky’s heart fluttered. “I got a dinner after his shift.”

Natasha put down her magazine and motioned for Clint to come over. “Fork it over, Barton.”

Clint grumbled, but pulled out his wallet and handed Natasha two twenty dollar bills as Bucky stared at them, eyes wide and mouth open.

“You guys had a bet?!” he sputtered, face flushed. Natasha only nodded.

“I bet that you’d have your date today.” She pointed at Clint. “He bet that your date was gonna be on the weekend.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Thanks for your faith in me, you guys.”

Clint shrugged. “Eh. We got another bet goin’.”

“Do I want to know?”

“No,” Clint and Natasha said simultaneously.

Sometimes, Bucky hated his friends. But he didn’t want to let their bets hinder the fact that all in all, the day was gonna end on a good note. After all, he had a dinner date with Steve.

**Author's Note:**

> **BONUS**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **Clint Barton**
>
>> so when do you think buckles will get laid?
> 
>   
> **Natasha Romanov**
>
>> I'm willing to bet tonight.  
> Have you seen how he looked at, what did you call him?  
> "Blondie McHottie"?
> 
>   
> **Clint Barton**
>
>> you think he'll put out on the first date?  
> he is but a shy hooman bean  
> anyways, i'll bet $50
> 
>   
> **Natasha Romanov**
>
>>   
> deal


End file.
